The Return of Ryan
by LitWriter
Summary: Guess who's back? That's right, your favorite neighborhood Drama King. And this time he seems to have all his marbles. But is he really back on the straight and narrow. By now East High should know that innocence is only skin-deep.
1. Guess Who's Back

"You should call him." Gabriella said to Sharpay.

"Who?" asked Sharpay in a nonchalant voice.

"Sharpay, you know who." said Gabriella.

"I'm not sure who you're talking about." said Sharpay acting clueless.

They were sitting in their fourth period class waiting for the over-dramatic Ms. Darbus to make her entrance. It had been thirteen minutes since the bell had rung and she still hadn't arrived. This conversation had gone on between them every day since Ryan had left for rehab.

"Sharpay, it's been six months and you haven't seen or talked to your brother at all. You haven't even gotten a phone call or a letter telling you how he is. How can you act like he doesn't matter to you?" asked Gabriella, worried for her friend.

"Because he doesn't." said Sharpay simply, while looking at her reflection in her mirror.

"You don't mean that, Sharpay. You and Ryan always have and always will love each other."

"Oh yeah? If that's true then why did he call me an evil, backstabbing, blond, bitch, Gabby?" said Sharpay with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Sharpay, from what you've told me about the fight it sounds like he was mad and you were mad and you _both_ ended up saying stupid, hurtful things that neither of you meant." said Gabriella. "Now _call him_. Call him. Call him Call him. Call him. _Call him_."

"Alright!" said Sharpay in defeat. "I'll call the rehabilitation center at lunch and leave a message for him. Now will you shut up about it?"

"Fine," said Gabriella cheerfully, "It's a start. Darbus is here anyway."

All attention turned towards the front as Ms. Darbus finally entered the room with a smile on her face.

"Good morning, fellow thespians!" Ms. Darbus greeted her class which was met with silence and blank stares. "I apologize for my tardiness. As I always say the theatre waits for no one and now we have lost so much time. There was an important meeting in the teachers' lounge and every staff member had to be there. But to make up for it I have brought someone with me to class that we all know and adore."

"Brad Pitt!"

"Tyra Banks!"

"Johnny Depp!"

"Naomi Campbell!"

"Justin Timberlake!"

"Quiet down everyone or else there is fifteen minutes for the whole class after school!" shouted Ms. Darbus over the yells of her students. Everyone instantly shut their mouths and paid attention to their teacher. "I don't have anyone quite so famous. But this person is someone that you all have known ever since you were little."

"Is it Barney!?" asked Jason excitedly.

Everyone groaned and looked at Jason as if he was crazy and he lowered his head in shame at the foolishness of his question.

"No, Mr. Cross, it is not Barney." said Ms. Darbus also annoyed with Jason's senseless questions. "Since this is getting us no where I will just call him in." Ms. Darbus turned to the door that led to the hallway and called, "Would you please come in now?!"

All heads turned towards the door as everyone waited for their mysterious guest to step through it and reveal himself. One leg appeared inside dressed with satin black pant leg and with a black shoe on. For a few seconds that is all that appeared in the room and every student was on the edge of their seat anticipating whose leg it could be. When the person's full body entered the room some jaws hit the floor, some eyes kept blinking wildly disbelieving what they saw, and some people just shut down. But one single thought went through every person's mind.

_Oh . . . my . . . god._

The person that stood before them in satin black pants and polished black shoes, with a light blue button up shirt, and with a black fedora on top of golden hair that went to the bottom of his neck, was the one and only Ryan Evans. He scanned the classroom full of students with his icy blue eyes while a sweet smile rested on his face. When his eyes landed on Sharpay and her expression of utter disbelief his smile turned into a smirk. Sharpay saw the change and her expression turned into one of anger and she quickly turned her head, taking more interest in what was happening outside of the classroom window.

"That's right. I'm back." said Ryan to the class, but more directly to Sharpay. "And I'm so glad to be here."

"Well, we're glad to have you back too, Ryan." said Ms. Darbus sincerely. "How I missed my leading male actor during the winter musicale? Troy decided not to participate and so we had to cast a complete amateur. Let's hope you don't get into trouble so that you'll be here for the spring musicale."

"Don't worry. I'll be staying for a _very_ long time." said Ryan, again more to Sharpay than anyone else.

"Now let's see," said Darbus looking around the room, "It seems your seat has been taken by somebody else, so the only seat is available is in the back. Right beside Jason Cross. You don't mind do you?"

"Not at all." said Ryan as he looked at the boy he would be sitting next to.

"I should have you back in your original seat by tomorrow." said Ms. Darbus going to sit down at her desk.

"Take your time." said Ryan walking to his seat. "I'm in no hurry to move."

As Ms. Darbus began to start the class Ryan sat in his seat and took a sideways glance at Jason, who couldn't take his eyes off of the boy. With a smirk on his face Ryan thought that his return to East High would be a very fruitful experience.

* * *

Lunch time took forever to roll around and when it finally did Ryan made sure to take an extra long time at his locker. This lunch period was going to be fun, and the bigger the audience the bigger the enjoyment.

"Seriously, he's back?!" asked Taylor in shock.

"Yeah," said Gabriella telling her friends the details of fourth period, "Ms. Darbus shows up to class with a _special guest_ and out of nowhere Ryan walks into the room. He seemed much more . . . tame than I thought he'd be."

"So he's not a loony anymore?" asked Chad.

"Shut up, Chad!" said Taylor giving her boyfriend a good whack over the head. "He wasn't a _loony_; he was just having trouble with drugs."

"Ouch!" said Chad rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Geez, I'm sorry. So he wasn't a loony. Either way he wasn't acting right in the head."

"And he's still not right in the head. Which is why we have to find a way to send him back."

Everyone looked at Sharpay in shock. She had been silent since seeing Ryan fourth period and now she was suggesting something that seemed crazy to the others.

"Sharpay, obviously you're still a little mad at him." said Gabriella trying to reason with her friend.

"No, Gabi. This has nothing to do with my feelings for him, or how he's been a jerk, or how's much he's embarrassed our family, or how completely _stupid_ he has been. I know that there is something wrong with him." Sharpay argued.

"Yeah, obviously this has nothing to do with your feelings." said Gabriella sarcastically.

"Ryan is sorry, Sharpay," Troy interjected, "And I'm sure he really wants to patch things up with you. How can he do that if you, his own twin, don't trust him?"

"How can I trust him?!" said Sharpay. "Everything he has ever said and done in his life has been a lie. Why would he start being truthful now? Have you guys forgotten he was sentenced to a full year in rehab? Why is he back after only six months?"

"Ask _him_." said Kelsi motioning towards the cafeteria doors.

Every single table, but the group's had noticed had Ryan had swung open the double doors and strode into the cafeteria. Even though the doors stopped before they were able to hit the walls and make a sound Ryan's presence caught the attention of everybody. Now as everyone watched him to see what he would do next he looked around to make sure that they paying very close attention. He confirmed all eyes were on him as he started his very slow and long steps into the cafeteria. When he had made it all the way to the gang's table he took a seat between Jason and Zeke.

"Hey guys!" said Ryan in a cheery and quite loud voice, devoid of the malice that filled his voice before. "Hope you guys didn't have too much fun while I was gone. I already missed half the year and I have so much to catch up on. So, tell me everything."

"Get away from here." said Sharpay, every word dripping with deadly venom. Even though his voice didn't hold any evil she could see it in his eyes. Those cold, calculating eyes that told of all his lies and his nice façade. She would expose him.

"What was that, Shar?" asked Ryan, still louder than necessary.

"Get away from here!" said Sharpay becoming just as loud as her brother. "You filthy, asshole! How dare you come here and act like everything is just peachy keen?!"

"Sharpay, I'm just trying to have a nice lunch with our friends." said Ryan, gesturing to the rest of the group.

"Your friends?! You weren't acting very friendly to them six months ago! You didn't want to be around them six months ago! You think they're seriously going to forgive you just like that after how you treated them?! Who the hell do you think you are?!" Sharpay ranted on.

"Sharpay, you need to calm down." said Ryan as he took a second to scan the cafeteria. "Why don't you come and give your brother a hug?"

As Ryan got up to approach his sister Sharpay stood as well. "Stay the hell away from me! I don't want you to touch me, to talk me, to look at me, to even think of me! You are a parasite! All you do is harm everything you come into contact with!"

With that said Sharpay removed herself from the table and stormed out of the cafeteria with her heels nearly cracking the floor tiles with every step she took. The gang watched her go and then turned to Ryan who had an innocent, sad looking face on.

"I guess she's still a little upset with me." Ryan explained. "I don't really blame her. I did such awful things to her and to you guys in the past. I am so sorry." Ryan tilt his head downward as he apologized to his friends, but just as it went down it suddenly snapped back up, "Anyway, I got to go." he said in a newly happy tone of voice. "See you guys later."

With a small wave Ryan walked out of the cafeteria faster than he had entered and left with much less noise than his sister. Everyone watched him leave, but only the group was able to tear their eyes away from the door when he was gone.

"I told you he was a loony." said Chad.

For once Taylor was unable to pop one over Chad's head at his rudeness and was only able to weakly nod in agreement, as did everyone else who sat at the table.

* * *

The final bell rang signaling the end of the school day and Sharpay rushed to her pink convertible without saying a goodbye or giving a simple wave to her friends. Going at least 20 miles over the speed limit she rushed to the Evans' mansion to tell her parents of the awful news she witnessed at school.

It took about ten minutes for Sharpay to cross a normally twenty-five minute drive across town. When she was finally parked in the driveway she jumped out of the car and rushed to the door so fast that she didn't notice the black Hummer that was parked right next to her car. Once she was inside the house she started belting out at the top of her lungs, "Daddy! Mother!"

After minutes of calling out for her parents and searching around the house Sharpay faintly heard the sound of laughter coming from her father's study. Sprinting in that direction in her high heels Sharpay got closer and closer to the study causing the laughter to become louder and more distinct. From the sounds of it she could distinguish that there were three different laughs. Two of them she recognized to be her parents and the other she vaguely remembered, but refused to believe that it belonged to who she thought it did.

When she finally reached the study Sharpay threw the doors open and found her suspicions to be true after all. There in front of her sat her mother and father, her father sitting at his desk with a cup of black coffee and her mother sitting on the couch with a cup of tea on a platter. Right next to her mother sat the owner of the third laugh, Ryan. They all looked at her in surprise as she burst in.

"Hello, pumpkin," said her mother sweetly before taking a sip of tea, "We were just welcoming Ducky back from his trip."

"Trip?" said Sharpay looking at her mother in confusion. "Don't you mean _rehab_?"

The room went silent at the mention of the word. Sharpay watched as her mother looked down to her lap, her father looked out the nearby window, and as Ryan continued to watch her with that unfaltering smile.

"I prefer to think of it as a trip, dear sister. A learning experience where I was able to change the error of my ways and see the light." said Ryan.

"Yes, yes." said their mother returning to life, trying to retain the previous friendly atmosphere.

"A trip?" Sharpay asked again.

"Yes, Sharpay." said Ryan looking at her with a big grin. "I missed you all so much since I went away on my _trip_. So I came home to talk to Mom and Dad."

"You lying . . . wait a minute." said Sharpay looking at Ryan and forgetting her anger for a second. "Did you just say Dad?"

"Yeah," said Ryan, "_Dad_. He's sitting right there in his chair."

When Sharpay saw Ryan indicating Rick she felt her anger start to rise again. "Since when did you start calling him Dad?" she hissed at Ryan.

"Since I got over that little phase I had before my trip." said Ryan patting the area on the other side of him. "Now sit down so we can have a family talk."

"To be a part of this family you have to actually live in this house." Sharpay said through gritted teeth.

"Well, that's exactly what I wanted to talk about, Sharpay." said Ryan, his smile getting bigger. "I got back while you were in school and decided to come here first. And when I came to apologize I also asked Mom and _Dad_," said Ryan, making sure to stress for Sharpay, "If I could come back to the house. It took a little convincing at first but,"

"Oh no." gasped Sharpay as she realized what her brother was telling her.

"I'm moving back in." said Ryan cheerily looking at his parents with grateful smiles. And it was only Sharpay who noticed the victorious smirk Ryan sent her before her parents could notice. Ryan stood up and walked to his sister before stopping two feet in front of her and opening his arms. All Sharpay could do was stand helpless as he uttered the words she dreaded most. With a smile, which turned into an evil smirk while his back was to his parents he said, "I'm home, sis."


	2. Home Sweet Home

"Oh my god! Pumpkin!" shouted her mother in shock as she ran to her fallen daughter's side.

When Ryan had given Sharpay the news with his arms wide opened to her, her eyes nearly rolled all the way back into her head and her body ended up hitting the floor in less than three second. Now her family crowded around her to make sure that she was ok. When her mother found her still breathing she told the male half of the family and they were able to relax.

"I guess she got so excited about me being back home that her body couldn't it all." Ryan explained to his parents as they lifted her onto the couch.

"You might be right, Ryan." said Rick gently laying Sharpay's head down on the cushion.

"And I think she might not be eating well," said Ryan, "After all she did skip lunch today."

"What?" asked his mother concerned. "That's not like Pumpkin at all."

"She has been acting a little moody lately." added Rick.

"Moodiness, not eating, I wonder what could be wrong with her." said Mrs. Evans.

"Maybe it's that time of month?" questioned Ryan innocently.

"Maybe it's time for you to shut up?" mumbled Sharpay.

The three looked at Sharpay in surprise as her eyes slowly opened, turning into a glare that was sent towards Ryan. "Oh look, she's awake." said Ryan with a smirk.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" she asked slowly and venomously.

"Pumpkin!" said her mother in surprise.

"Sharpay, there will be no such language in this house." said Rick sternly.

"Shut up!" Sharpay shouted back before turning her attention back on Ryan. She rose to her shaky feet, but quickly held herself in her normal manner. "How dare you think you can just waltz back in here with a wave of your fingers?" Sharpay hissed as she took step after slow step towards her brother with an accusing finger pointing towards his chest. "How dare you think that no one in this house will remember what you've done? How dare you embarrass yourself, and _me,_ like that in front of the entire cafeteria?!"

"What is she talking about, Ducky?" asked their mother looking towards her son. "I thought you said Pumpkin skipped lunch?"

"Skipped lunch?!" said Sharpay outraged, still glaring at her brother. "I had to _leave _lunch just to escape his craziness!"

"What are you talking about, Sharpay?" asked Rick as confused as his wife.

"I'm talking about-"

"What she's talking about," said Ryan loudly, interrupting his sister, "Is the apology that I made to her during lunch."

"Apology!" shouted Sharpay with death in her eyes, "You call what you did an apology?!"

"What happened?!" screamed their parents.

"Here is what happened," Ryan started to explain, "I was feeling so bad about all the trouble I had put Sharpay through that I decided to make a formal apology to her during lunch. And to make sure everybody knew that I was sorry about my reckless actions in the beginning of the year I waited until everyone was in the cafeteria. So when all the students were at lunch I walked into the cafeteria and gave a big heartfelt speech about the stupidity of my actions and my deep regrets about what I had done, pouring my entire soul and being into my words, making sure that everyone could understand my feelings. I wanted them all to know that I had changed back to who I was before, but better, and happier. And after that I walked straight up to Sharpay, got on my knees, and in front of everyone, apologized to my beloved sister and asked for her undying forgiveness. Sadly, I am not yet ready for that forgiveness and Sharpay, also understanding that, left the cafeteria. Of course, I don't blame her for still having any hard feelings towards me. After all, what I did _is_ unforgivable, unforgettable, and made me lose everyone's respect for me. Hopefully, one day I will be able to regain the trust of the one's I love, and more importantly, the trust of my only sister and twin."

Ryan's parents listened as he weaved his story together with beautiful words, tearful and emotional tones, and gestures that punctuated parts just right. And all Sharpay could do was watch as her last line of defense was enraptured by the words of the devil incarnate. As Ryan wrapped up his story with a final smile to his parents and one big grin to his sister, Sharpay's face changed from one devoid of all emotion to one filled with such anger and rage that you just wanted to look away. Again she started to approach her brother with a raised finger, and hate radiating from every part of her body, causing Ryan to take steps backwards trying to keep away from his sister's imminent wrath.

"You," she hissed out unable to think of more to express her feelings towards her soon to be dead twin, "You … you … you evil, cheating, conniving, dishonest, malicious, vile, obnoxious, revolting, devious, disgusting, manipulative, corrupt, foul, little creature. You devil spawned son of a bitch!"

By now Ryan was backed against the wall of the study with his sister still approaching him with her clawed hands. His hat had fallen off of his head when he hit the wall and he was scared to pick it for fear of any movement would cause his sister to attack.

"I am going to rip the skin off of your bones and feed the strips to Boi before I strangle you to death and dump your body in the river!" screamed Sharpay, launching herself at her brother.

Ryan closed his eyes tight and turned his head away from the sight of his animalistic sister awaiting the pain that would soon follow. Three seconds past and the pain still hadn't come yet. Normally he would be dead by now. Opening one eye he saw Sharpay thrashing about wildly towards him, trying to sink her perfectly manicured nails into his eyes.

When he opened the other he was able to see Rick holding back Sharpay while his mother cowered in the corner at the fierceness of her daughter. Ryan quickly took the opportunity to side step out of the path of Sharpay's rage and run over to his mother to give her hug. As they watched Rick drag the wild Sharpay out of the room they hugged each other closely as Mrs. Evans stroked her son's hair back over and over again.

"I hope Pumpkin will be ok." whispered his mother worriedly.

"Don't worry, Mom." said Ryan with a smirk that was hidden from his mother. "She'll adjust."


	3. Breakups Are So Messy

Ryan's black Hummer entered the deserted school's parking lot, except for a few cars belonging to the staff, at 6:30 the next morning. He had decided to come in early, not really wanting to have to run from his sister this morning, especially since she tried to attack him again while he was sleeping last night. She tried to sneak into his room in the middle of the night and smother him with his pillow, but since he was awake, anticipating an attack from his sister, he was able to escape and run to his parents for safety.

Exiting his car Ryan closed the door after him and made sure to lock it before heading towards the school's main entrance. Upon reaching the pavement Ryan decided to take a seat on the fountain and finish the homework that he was unable to finish at home. Weird, being not able to finish _home_work at _home_. Ryan laughed at his little joke and commenced in trying to figure out some calculus problems. About seven minutes later he was done with everything that was due today and stuffed it all in his messenger bag.

Guu-guu. Guu-guu.

_What the-_

Guu-guu. Guu-guu.

_Is that snoring?_, thought Ryan as he looked around the area, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. Eventually he found that the sound was coming from the other side of the fountain. Apparently someone had come and decided to take a nap on the structure as Ryan was engrossed in his homework.

Walking around to the other side of the fountain he found Jason Cross laying down on the edge of the fountain with his hair covering his closed eyes and his snores echoing across the front area. How had Ryan not heard these snores before, they were so thunderous? As Ryan looked upon Jason's sleeping form in the early morning light against the background of the falling water, a small smile formed on his face. He slowly crouched down in front of the sleeping boy to gently push his hair out of his eyes.

"God, Jason," whispered Ryan with a sigh, as he traced a finger don Jason's face, "Even asleep you're able to make me smile. You know you were all I could think about while I was away. Well, you and some other things, but you get my point. Why did you have to make things complicated? This isn't going to be easy now … but it has to be done. Ok," said Ryan taking a deep breath, "Now wake up."

Ryan gently patted Jason on the cheek which caused the boy to stir a little, but not wake. Ryan was tempted to leave and give up on this plan, but he had to go through with this. It was the only way. Sucking in a large breath he prepared his lungs.

"WAKE UP, CROSS!" he yelled into Jason's ear.

This caused Jason's eyes to shoot open forcing him awake. Unfortunately, Ryan hadn't anticipated the shock of his yell to cause Jason to roll backwards and into the pooling water of the fountain. He gasped as Jason submerged in the water, causing a splash that also got some water on his own clothes. Quickly he threw his arms under the water and grabbed one of Jason's arms to pull him up. When Jason was finally standing up in the fountain, with his damp hair and clothes clinging to his body and his breathing finally catching up with him, he wiped the water out of his eyes and looked at Ryan.

"What did you do that for?!" he asked in a mix of surprise and anger.

"I'm sorry!" said Ryan holding his arms up in defense. "I didn't think that you would fall back into the fountain!"

"Well, I did!" said Jason pointing at his wet-self still standing in the fountain.

"Yeah, well . . ." Ryan was at a loss of words for his defense. "I just really needed to talk to you."

"What could be so important that you had to scream in my ear?!"

"I'm sorry, alright?! Would you stop yelling at me?!" Ryan shouted back in a hurt tone, before changing into a more somber one, "I thought you would be happy to see me again."

Jason's anger melted away when he saw the sad expression on Ryan's face. "I am happy to see you." he said as if it were simple. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Could you step out of the fountain first?" Ryan asked. "I don't think I can have a serious conversation with you while you're dripping wet and standing in the school fountain."

Jason took one foot out of the fountain after the other and took a seat on the rim of the structure. Ryan sat down right next to him, but not too closely, fearing the idea of getting his own clothes even more wet.

"So," asked Jason still waiting, "What is it?"

"First, I want to ask you something." said Ryan looking at his friend.

"Yeah." said Jason.

"Did you . . . why are you here so early?" asked Ryan suddenly curious about Jason's appearance at the school at such an early hour.

"I . . . always come to school early." said Jason hesitantly.

"Really?" asked Ryan suddenly suspicious, "At what time?"

"6:30." Jason answered quickly.

"I came at 6:30." Ryan shot back.

"I come through the back entrance." Jason countered.

"Why are you in the front?"

"I was waiting for the others."

"For almost half an hour?"

"I'm a very patient person."

"And a very tired person. Why would you come to school so early if you were going to fall asleep again?"

"I didn't know I was going to fall asleep. I just laid my head down on the fountain."

"And fell asleep instantly because we all know that the fountain rim is so comfortable." said Ryan sarcastically.

"Apparently it is, or else I wouldn't have fallen asleep."

"Or maybe you were just so tired you didn't care where you fell asleep?"

"I got some coffee on my way here."

"From where?"

"When did this turn into an interrogation?" asked Jason now suspicious of Ryan.

"When you hesitated giving an answer to my first question. Why are you here so early?"

"I told you. I always get here early." said Jason. "Was that too hesitant?"

"Now that you've said it once before of course it doesn't sound hesitant!" Ryan retorted.

"Can we just skip this?!" asked Jason holding his hands up in frustration.

"Fine!" said Ryan annoyed, "Don't tell me!"

"Why are you mad?!"

"Because you won't tell me the truth!"

"I just did!"

"Whatever." said Ryan with a huff. "Just answer one more question."

"I don't know if I want to here anymore questions." said Jason looking away.

"This one is important." said Ryan seriously. "_Very_ important. For the both of us."

Jason looked Ryan in the eye and decided to go along with it. "Fine. What is it?"

At first Ryan was hesitant about this question because he knew it would cause a whole chain of events that he be unable to stop once it started, but after a few seconds he blurted out, "Did you miss me at all while I was gone?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Ryan was at first a little hurt by the response, but when he heard what Jason had to say after it only made him feel worse. "Of course I missed you. I missed you every day and night that I didn't know where you were or what you were doing or who you were with. I was scared for your safety every minute that you weren't here. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, it does." said Ryan looking at him with a frown.

"Good." said Jason leaning in closer to capture Ryan's lips in his own for a passionate long-lasting kiss. When they pulled away two minutes later Ryan had his eyes closed tight and when he realized it was over he looked away in shame.

"I really wish you hadn't done that." he whispered.

"What?" asked Jason confused. "Why?"

"Because … because I can't do this anymore." forced out Ryan.

"What are you talking about?" Jason asked, still baffled.

"I can't do _this_ anymore. I can't deal with _us_." Ryan informed his friend.

"Are you breaking up with me?" asked Jason in disbelief.

"Technically," said Ryan softly, "You can't call it a break-up if the two people in the relationship were never officially dating. So really, it's just a friendly separation."

"Bull shit." Jason spat out bitterly. "No matter what you call it it's a break-up. When two people love each other and eventually split-up, it's a break-up."

"Who said we loved each other?" said Ryan seriously. Jason looked him in the eyes with a look so hurt and confused Ryan had to look away. "I never said I loved you."

"Yes, you did." said Jason. "That day you showed me the picture of your dad. You said you loved me."

"No, I said I think I _might_ love you. I never flat out said 'I love you'." Ryan defended himself. Looking at Jason he put on the most emotionless face he could muster up and said in an even voice, "Besides, that was back when I was a drug addicted idiot. It was nothing more than a mistake."

"Don't say that." said Jason, his voice filled with hurt.

"Do you seriously think that I could love someone like you with a clear mind?" asked Ryan.

"If that's how you feel . . . then why did you want to know how I felt about you going away?" asked Jason tears entering his eyes.

". . ."

"Well?!"

"I wanted to know how much you actually liked me." said Ryan truthfully, with a little too much more emotion in his tone than he had wanted. To cover up for it he added, in a hurtful tone, "It's actually so pathetic how much you like me. And it ends now. I'm done."

Ryan got up from his seat on the fountain rim and walked through the front doors of East High leaving a soaking wet Jason to sit alone on the stone structure. Alone, confused, and empty.


	4. Baseball Hunk

"Oh where, oh where, could that sign-up sheet be?" Ryan said to himself as he walked around the halls of East High. He had looked through nearly the entire building and still couldn't find what he was looking for. It wasn't until he finally walked by the gym that he found it on a bulletin board with a bunch of other sign-up sheets. "Figures you'd be next to the one place I never visit." said Ryan as he pulled a pen from his bag.

He quickly signed his name in small, neat cursive before capping the pen and returning it to his bag. Before continuing on to his locker he scanned the other names that were written on the sign-up sheet. It was mostly freshman and sophomores, probably because the juniors and seniors had a sure spot on the team, but he was surprised to see Chad Danforth's name also on the list.

"Now why would you need to try-out for the baseball team, Mr. Danforth?" Ryan asked to no one in particular.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." said a silky, smooth voice from behind Ryan.

Ryan turned around to look at a senior boy with short brown hair that spiked at the ends and bright green eyes that pierced into your soul. His lips were thin and tight, formed in a scowl aimed at Ryan. His body was thin, but lightly muscled, more so than Ryan's, and he was about two inches taller than the blond.

"Kevin Madison." said Ryan with a smile as he inspected the boy up and down. "You're still looking as sexy as ever. I bet you can't keep the men off you."

"Very funny, faggot." Kevin spat.

"Ooh. Now that's a mean word." said Ryan with false hurt. "Why can't you use the names you used to call me, like 'Baby' and 'The best fuck I ever had'."

As Kevin's scowl grew so did the smile on Ryan's face. Kevin moved dangerously closer to Ryan, but the blond didn't budge an inch.

"You think you're some sort of comedian don't you?" Kevin asked, his voice low as he breathed on Ryan's face.

"No, but I think you need a mint because your breath stinks." said Ryan as he scrunched up his face and waved his hand in front of his face.

"That's it!" shouted Kevin as he drew his hand back in a fist and prepared to launch it towards Ryan's face.

* * *

"Where is he?!"

Jason, still wet from his trip into the fountain, looked up to see Sharpay hovering him with her hands on her designer jean covered hips. You could see Hell's fire blazing in her eyes, which was much scarier than the normal fire that was usually in them. Not wanting to be hurt by another Evans he answered to her question, "Inside."

"Thank you." said Sharpay in a hurry as she turned towards the school's front doors before quickly turning back around to look at Jason again. "Why are you wet, tall person?"

"Fountain." said Jason simply, unwilling to take the time to explain the entire events of his early morning.

"How?"

"Ryan."

"Do I want to know?"

"Nope."

Sharpay just let out a great angry sigh as she marched through the double doors of the building. As she looked from their lockers, to their homeroom, to the Arts department, to the auditorium only to not find Ryan, her mood grew increasingly on edge. So when she turned the corner of a hallway to see Kevin Madison, East High's star baseball pitcher/her first crush, with his fist raised about to punch in the face of her twin brother/dead man walking, it did not make her any happier.

Just as Sharpay was about to let out one of her mighty roars Kevin's fist went propelling towards Ryan's face, only to be caught by one of Ryan's hands in mid-air. Sharpay and Kevin both stared in shock at the stopped fist that was caught by the Drama King. What shocked Sharpay even more was when Ryan reacted by locking lips with the guy that had just tried to punch him. For thirty seconds she stood slack-jawed as Ryan kissed her wide-eyed first crush before she snapped out of it and her malice came flooding back.

"RYAN EVANS!!" she shrieked.

Ryan pulled away from Kevin and they both looked in Sharpay's direction to see her breathing deeply with her fist balled. Kevin looked from Sharpay to his still captured fist to Ryan before he pulled his hand away from the blond and began running down the hall, but not before saying, "Keep away from me you faggot!"

When Kevin was out of sight Sharpay took loud, menacing steps towards her frozen with fright twin brother, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Finally, when she stood two feet in front of him she just stopped and stared straight into his eyes. She could see the fear and vulnerability hidden deep inside of them . . . and she liked it. She absolutely loved that she was once again the dominant twin that was in control, but she also felt something else . . . something weird.

_What the hell is that_, thought Sharpay as she kept her evil stare on Ryan, _Is this that guilt feeling Gabriella says I should have? Or is it that conscience thing that poor people have?_

Whatever it was it made Sharpay feel a little sorry for her brother, which she did not want to feel at the moment. Because of it she wasn't able to take her newly filed nails and dig them into Ryan's eyeballs. But it didn't stop her from grabbing him by the shoulders and throwing him up against the lockers, knocking the breath out of his lungs.

"Do you . . . have . . . to do that . . . every . . . time . . . you're mad . . . at me?" asked Ryan as he tried to regain as much air as possible.

"I will keep doing this until you stop making my life a living hell!" Sharpay shouted at him as she dug a nail into his chest.

"You do it to others, so why can't I do it to you?" asked Ryan when he was able to breathe normally and pushed Sharpay's hand away before it punctured his skin.

"I do not," said Sharpay in shock, before muttering, "Anymore."

"Oh please, Sharpay!" said Ryan. "You act like a bitch and everyone knows it."

All Sharpay could do was gasp in shock before her anger took over and she ended up throwing Ryan to the other side of the hall. He ended up hitting the wall shoulder first while his legs hit the floor. Sharpay just walked over, picked him up, and pinned him to the wall like when she pinned him to the lockers.

"Listen, you little psycho freak!" said Sharpay in a quick, angry voice. "I am up to the _moon_ with your shit and I will _not_ deal with it any longer! Now you better shape up and start acting like your good old, happy self or else I will start tossing you around this school like a Frisbee. Got it?!"

"Whatever." said Ryan dismissively.

"I said 'GOT IT'?!" shouted Sharpay as she slammed him against the wall a second time.

"Ahh!" screamed Ryan in pain as his back was smashed against the concrete. "I got it, devil incarnate!"

"Good." said Sharpay as she dropped him and let him slide to the floor. Pulling her compact out of her purse she fixed her wild hair and reapplied her lipstick and eye shadow. Putting it away she smiled at her brother and gave him a small wave saying, "Toodles!"

Ryan watched with wide eyes as his sister practically skipped down the hallway towards her locker.

"And she calls me the psycho freak?" questioned Ryan as he rose to his feet and grabbed his hurting shoulder. Luckily, when he came back they gave him a locker not right next to Sharpay's. Now he wouldn't have to worry about being slammed into his locker every day.


	5. Denzel Washington

Sharpay, Gabriella, Taylor, and Kelsi all sat in a square in the middle of their homeroom gossiping about boys, boys, boys, and more boys as Troy, Chad, and Zeke sat in the back glaring at the girls, who weren't exactly whispering.

"I think they can hear us." said Gabriella, as she pointed at the boys who tried to look like they hadn't been staring at the girls since homeroom had started.

"Well if they weren't eavesdropping on us they wouldn't have anything to be mad at." said Sharpay.

"It's not eavesdropping when you're talking loud enough for the entire class to hear." Chad blurted out.

"So you are listening?" asked Taylor.

"I'll admit I can hear you." said Chad. "I'll also admit I don't like you talking about other guys. It makes me feel . . . insecure." Everyone just laughed loudly at Chad's display of sensitivity which caused him to shrink more into his seat. "It's not funny!" he shouted at them.

Taylor, the only one who didn't bust out in laughter, ran over to her boyfriend and draped her arms around his shoulders. "Oh, Baby," she cooed sweetly into his ear, "I would never think about loving any other man, but you."

"Thanks, Tay." said Chad as he rested his hands on hers. "That means a lot."

"Except maybe Denzel Washington!" Taylor added excitedly. "That man is fiiine!"

"Thank you, Taylor." said Chad sarcastically as his girlfriend returned to her laughing girlfriends.

"It's ok man," said Troy reassuringly as he patted his best friend on the back, "We still love ya."

"Yeah," Zeke jumped in, "Me, Troy, and Jason would never leave you for Denzel Washington."

"Thanks guys." said Chad to his best friends.

"Unless he offered us a million dollars." added Troy.

"You know what?!" said Chad angrily. "You guys are all jerks! I'm gonna go make some new friends!"

"Calm down, Chad." said Kelsi, trying to sooth the angry basketball player. "We didn't all say we'd leave for Denzel Washington."

"Yeah," piped up Gabriella, "Just your best friends and girlfriend."

"That makes me feel so much better." said Chad dryly.

"Denzel Washington wouldn't have to offer me anything to ditch you, Chad." said Sharpay.

"I love you too, Sharpay." said Chad with mock compassion.

Sharpay just gave a small smile.

"I have to admit, I'd leave you too." said Gabriella.

"And me." added Kelsi.

"It's official." announced Chad, "All of my friends hate."

"We don't hate you, Chad." said Troy rubbing his back.

"We just like Denzel Washington more." said Taylor.

"At least Ryan and Jason were kind enough not to mention their hurtful opinions!" said Chad. "Thank you, guys."

"That's because they're not even here, Chad." mentioned Gabriella.

"Speaking of the missing duo, where are they?" asked Kelsi.

"I saw Jason outside." said Sharpay.

"Did you find, Ryan?" asked Troy.

"Yes, I did." said Sharpay indignantly.

"Did you kill him?" asked Gabriella.

"No, I did not." said Sharpay with a sigh.

"Good girl." said Taylor mockingly.

"Watch it, McKessie." said Sharpay threateningly with narrowed eyes.

"Hey, look! Here comes Jason now." said Kelsi pointing towards the door.

Jason walked through the classroom door with his head bent down low and his damp hair covering his eyes. He walked to the back of the class and took his seat next to Troy. Everyone just stared at him curiously waiting for him to put on his usual goofy grin and join in the humiliation of Chad. But no goofy grin appeared on his face, and no joyous mirth could be seen in his barely visible eyes.

"Dude, why are you damp?" asked Chad, the first to break the strange silence.

"Chad, shut up!" scolded Taylor.

"What did I do now?!" asked Chad in shock.

"Can't you see Jason is obviously not his usual self." said Taylor gesturing to their stoic friend.

"Then let me rephrase my question." said Chad. Turing towards Jason he asked, "Dude, are you sad because you're damp?"

Taylor just slapped herself on the forward and mutter, "Boy, you are hopeless."

"There is no satisfying you is there?" whined Chad.

"Well, maybe if you actually used your brain for once." mention Taylor.

"Is that so?" said Chad ready for a fight. "For your information-"

"What-" began Taylor at the same time.

"Would you guys stop it?!" shouted Kelsi. "This is not the time for one of your old couple fights!" Both Taylor and Chad bowed their heads in shame while Kelsi turned her attention towards Jason. "Jason, sweetie, what's wrong?"

Jason was completely despondent to the entire situation that was going on around him. Even when Darbus came towards him and asked why he had been late to class. Luckily, the gang came up with some excuse about a visit to the nurse that she bought. Right when Darbus turned around to return to her desk Ryan entered the room and froze when she set her gaze on him.

"Mr. Evans," Darbus announced in her loud theatre voice, "Only your second day back and you're late to homeroom. Maybe you haven't changed as much as we thought you had?"

"I'm sorry for my tardiness, Ms. Darbus," said Ryan in a calm voice, "But I had to go to the nurse. Here, I have a pass from her."

Darbus walked towards him and took the pass from his hands. Reading it over she looked back up and said, "Very well. Take your seat." Ryan looked his desk, which was located next to a very damp teen that was staring straight at him, and panicked. Jason could see the worry and fear in Ryan's eyes and knew that he had to do something to make that fear go away. He looked to Zeke who sat at the other end of their row.

"Zeke," he whispered to his friend, "Switch seats with me."

"Now you decide to talk?" questioned Zeke.

"Just shut up and do it." said Jason forcefully.

"Whatever, man." said Zeke as he grabbed his bag and stood up.

Jason quickly walked over to Zeke's seat and sat down while Zeke took his seat. Luckily, Ms. Darbus was too interested in the frozen Ryan to notice anyone else moving at all.

"Any day now Mr. Evans!" Darbus shouted. "As I always say the theatre waits for no one."

"Yes, Ms. Darbus." said Ryan quickly as he hurried to his seat. When he was finally in his seat Darbus turned her attention on Jason.

"Mr. Cross, why is it that Ryan returned with a pass from the nurse and you did not?" Darbus questioned him.

Jason was at a loss for words and couldn't think quickly enough of a plausible excuse to why he didn't have a pass. Fortunately, someone else did.

"I asked the nurse for my pass, Ms. Darbus." Ryan announced. When Darbus gave him a look he added, "If you don't ask her for one she'll send you away without thinking to give you one. She's getting on in years and her I think her focus is slipping."

"Very well then." said Darbus just as the first bell rang. "Off you go to first period."

Everyone rose from their seats and rushed out of the room to their first period classes. Before Ryan joined the crowd he looked back to Jason who just mouthed the words 'thank you' to him. He smiled, but it quickly faded away as he remembered this morning's events, and he ran out of the classroom without looking back.


	6. Let's Split Up

"Why were you visiting the nurse?" asked Gabriella to Ryan, who just returned from the lunch line with some cheese fries.

They were all sitting at their usual table in the cafeteria during their lunch period. Except for Jason, who had gone to his locker and not returned so far.

"Oh, um," said Ryan caught off guard by the sudden question, "I was feeling this pain in my shoulder. Almost like I had been _thrown against a wall_."

Sharpay caught the not so subtle hint and replied, "Well those walls are pretty tricky. Sometimes they just jump out of nowhere and you end up bumping into them."

Suddenly all eyes were on the twins who were staring each other down from opposite sides of the table. It was Ryan who folded first and returned to eating his basket of fries covered in cheese.

"Hey, Ryan," said Sharpay innocently, "I was talking to Jason outside and he said you might know something about why he was so wet. Do you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sharpay." said Ryan defensively with a false smile. "When I got to school I came right inside without seeing Jason. How could I possibly know how he got wet?"

"I was just repeating something I heard, Ryan." said Sharpay with a look a good-natured curiosity. "You don't have to get all defensive. It's not like I'm accusing you of anything."

"I'm not getting defensive, Sharpay." said Ryan, trying to keep his cool.

"Oh, but you are my dear twin." said Sharpay. "I'm sure everyone here would agree with me on that."

"You are getting kinda defensive, Ryan." Chad put in.

"You know what, Chad," said Ryan angrily, "Denzel Washington!"

"Oh come on!" shouted Chad angrily. "Not you to! Why is everyone so mean to me?!"

"Ryan, Ryan, Ryan," said Sharpay wagging a finger at her brother, "No need to get so angry at Chad for stating a simple fact."

Ryan was beginning to dig his nails into the edging of the lunch table, but he quickly regained his cool composure and put on a nice smile. "You're right, Sharpay," he stated in a nice tone, "I shouldn't be getting mad. I should get glad."

"You . . . should?" asked Sharpay confused by her brother's sudden happy demeanor.

"Yes, I'm here surrounded by my loving sister, my friends, Kevin Madison, and these delicious cheese fries." said Ryan making sure his sister heard the third item before he took one his fries and put it into his mouth with a smirk.

"What was that?" asked Sharpay losing her superior air.

"These cheese fries; they're so good and warm." said Ryan.

"Can I have one?" asked Chad.

"Denzel Washington." said Ryan quickly, which caused Chad to groan and bow his head in shame.

"Before that." said Sharpay getting annoyed with her brother's antics.

"Our friends?" said Ryan indicating the group that was staring at them suspiciously.

"Ryan!" shouted Sharpay who was not up to playing any more games.

"Oh you mean, Kevin . . . Madison." said Ryan putting a pause between the first and last names. As Sharpay stared at him coldly he kissed the air just to rub it in her face even more.

"You dirty, son of a bitch." hissed Sharpay.

"Guess that makes you the daughter of a bitch, you psychotic shrew." Ryan shot right back at her.

"What are they fighting about _now_?"

Everyone turned to see Jason standing behind them standing in a dry Wildcats sweatshirt and matching sweatpants. He looked from each face to another curiously, searching for an answer to his question, but everyone just stared back at him, and it made him nervous.

"Is there something on my face?" he asked.

"No," Kelsi responded first, "We're just surprised to hear you talking again."

"It's not like I'm mute." said Jason putting on a grin. "So what are the twins squabbling about now?"

"Um, I think I should go." said Ryan suddenly as he got up from his seat at the table.

"Where are you going?" asked Gabriella.

"I think I'll go sit with the Drama Club." said Ryan pointing towards the second level of the cafeteria where the table sat next to the railing. "Probably ask them about the next play."

"You're not in Drama Club. Remember?" said Sharpay bitingly.

"That doesn't mean I can't be supportive of their efforts." said Ryan just as fiercely before returning to a normal tone. "Besides I never congratulated them on the winter musical. And I'm sure that they deserve it."

"It can wait right?" asked Jason. "You can just take one minute to talk right?"

Ryan looked at Jason to see the boy was staring straight at him and only him. Like he and Jason were the only two people in the cafeteria having their own conversation. Jason eyes pleaded him to stay and talk things out, but his brain told him the exact opposite. And it was his brain that he chose to listen to, completely deaf to what his heart was trying to tell him.

"I'm sorry." said Ryan more to the group than the boy he was looking at. "I have to go."

Ryan turned his back on them and walked up the stairs to the second level of the cafeteria where they weren't able to see him. When he was out so sight everyone turned their gaze on Jason who just stared at the second level for a minute longer before returning his gaze to the group.

"I gotta go talk to Mrs. Briggs about the Calculus homework. I still don't get it." Jason said before he was gone from the cafeteria.

With him and Ryan gone all eyes turned to Sharpay, who would normally love the attention, but just wanted to get away from it.

"I need to go talk to Ms. Darbus about the spring musical." she said before she was also gone from the cafeteria.

The table was quiet for a few moments as the drama of today's lunch sunk in.

"What is going on with all of them?" asked Taylor to her friends, who seemed just as baffled as she did.

"I don't know." said Troy. "But I think we need to find out."

"Me, Taylor, and Kelsi will take Sharpay." volunteered Gabriella.

"Yeah." Kelsi agreed.

"Ok." said Taylor.

"I'll talk to Jason." said Zeke.

"I'll go with you." said Troy.

"So it's just me and Chad left to get Ryan." figured Martha.

"Right." said Chad through a mouth full of cheese fries that Ryan had left behind. "Can we start after I finish these?"


	7. The Four Words You Never Want To Hear

Sharpay took one last look at herself in her mirror and gave her hair one last fluffing. Taking a liking in her appearance Sharpay struck a pose, and another, and another, and another. And as she went off into her imaginary fashion photo shoot Sharpay failed to notice the bathroom door open and three people walk in. Giving her reflection one last look she said, "Perfect", and gave herself a kiss goodbye and a wave. As she turned to leave she jumped when she noticed the three girls blocking the entrance, staring at her.

"That was one the weirdest things I have ever seen you do." said Taylor as she shook her head.

"Please. Don't be mad just because I'm so perfectly beautiful." scoffed Sharpay as she attempted to make her way past. When her passage was blocked she started to get annoyed. "Excuse me."

"Sharpay, we need to talk." said Gabriella.

* * *

Jason jogged along the track field, barely paying attention to the world around him. His mind was focused on Ryan and how the boy not only blew him off once, but twice today. While his thoughts were on the newly returned blond he didn't notice Troy and Zeke come up behind him.

"Hey, Jay." said Zeke.

Returning from his thoughts Jason looked at his friend and put on a smile. "Hey, dude."

"So that was an interesting lunch today, right?" asked Troy.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. I wouldn't really know." said Jason confused.

"And homeroom. That was definitely interesting, right?" asked Zeke.

"Again, I wouldn't really know." said Jason. "You guys, is there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Well . . ." began Troy

"Yeah?" asked Jason.

"Jason, we need to talk." said Zeke.

* * *

Ryan checked the piece of paper in his hand before scanning the bookcase. The book he was looking for just happened to be on the top shelf, which just happened to be a foot and half over Ryan's head. Ryan reached for the book with one arm while trying to balance the five books he already had in his other arm.

"Who do they think goes to this school? Yao Ming?" asked himself as he stood on the tips of his toes. "It figures school hands out the most assignments when you decide to take a six month break." said Ryan as his fingers brushed against the book. Ryan was able to get a slight grip on the bottom corner of the book and slowly begin to edge it towards him. When the book was close to the edge he gave one final pull to bring it down. Sadly, he didn't expect it fall right on his head, causing his grip on his other books to loosen and fall to the ground. The resulting noise earned him a shushing from the librarian.

"Sorry." said Ryan with a smile as he bent down to pick up the books. When the librarian disappeared he muttered under his breath, "Bitch."

As he reached for one of his books on the floor another hand landed on it, causing Ryan to jump in fear that the librarian had happened to catch what he said. When he looked up to see the owner of the hand it was Chad's face that greeted him with a smile. "Oh. It's just you." said Ryan nonchalantly as he gathered up the rest of his books and stood up.

"Thanks. You know just how to make a guy feel special." said Chad sarcastically as he handed Ryan his book.

"I'm sorry. Let me try that again." said Ryan as he cleared his throat. "Oh, Chad, you've finally found me after all this time, my dearest friend. I've counted the seconds since lunch when I would see you warm smile shining upon my face again. If you hadn't found me here I probably would have died from your absence from my life."

"Um, I think I prefer the first one." said Chad with a laugh.

"Really? I kind of liked it." said Ryan also laughing. "I think I'll greet you like that every day now."

"Shhhh!" said the librarian as she passed by.

"Sorry." said the two boys as they tried to suppress their laughter from being caught.

"You're right. She is kind of a bitch." said Chad when she was gone.

"Oh," said Ryan surprised, "You heard that?"

"Yeah." said Chad. Ryan instantly turned around and headed out of the aisle. "Hey, wait." said Chad hurrying after him.

"What?" said Ryan still walking.

"It's kind of rude to just walk away when someone is talking to you." said Chad.

"I thought the conversation was over." said Ryan.

"So, you can't even say bye?" asked Chad. "Or at least signal the other person that you're going to walk away?"

"That sounds like work." whined Ryan.

"Rich people." said Chad with a sigh.

"Poor people." mimicked Ryan.

"Middle class." Chad defended.

"Same thing." said Ryan scoffed. "So was there anything else . . ."

Ryan trailed off when he saw Martha sitting at the table he had left his bag at. When she spotted the two walking back she waved at them.

"What's going on?" asked Ryan.

"What?" asked Chad.

"You and Martha? Is this some kind of mini intervention?" asked Ryan getting annoyed.

"No." said Chad as they reached the table.

"Hey, Ryan." said Martha.

"Ok, we need to talk." said Ryan.

"Hey! You totally stole my line!" shouted Chad.


End file.
